iOS 26.2 to Allow Third-Party App Stores in Japan Ahead of Regulatory Deadline

[I7guy]

This person feels that people are purchasing Apple devices for the walled garden AppStore 🤣🤣🤣

Well yes.

I purchase Apple devices for its hardware quality and software integration with other Apple products, I have to find workarounds for AppStore artificial limitations because Apple chooses to be stubborn. But it’s okay I also have moved to an android tablet as it’s 1/3 the price of an iPad Air has has better specs and I need it to do some/test specific things.

Perfect vote with your $$$.

As a shareholder opening the AppStore is not a concern, it also shows that Apple has to strive and innovate instead of depending on the status quo.

No as a shareholder it is a concern about overzealous regulation and the potential side effects. Innovation in someone else’s back is not innovation, it’s theft.

 

[gsprs]

I am "crazy enough" to leave the walled garden. Actually I'm just not an idiot and can decide such things for myself, without Apple's help. Stop living in fear, friend.

Been doing fine with regular unwalled computers for 30 years.

I am an idiot because I don't have time to analyze every single software package developers send my way to check if it contains malicious code, so I leave it up to Apple like I've done for the past 15 years. I don't want iOS to turn into Android, if I did I would just buy an Android instead of an iPhone, there is nothing really different hardware-wise between an iPhone and high-end Android phones, __THE__ special thing about iPhones is their operating system and the way it works __INSIDE__ the walled garden, this is __THE__ main reason me and a lot of other people keep buying these devices. What __you__ call "freedom" is actually an inconvenience and a burden that a lot of other users don't want anything to do with, do everyone (including you) a favor and just buy yourself a Samsung this christmas instead of ruining the only sane by default computing ecosystem left for the rest of us.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

I am an idiot because I don't have time to analyze every single software package developers send my way to check if it contains malicious code, so I leave it up to Apple like I've done for the past 15 years. I don't want iOS to turn into Android, if I did I would just buy an Android instead of an iPhone, there is nothing really different hardware-wise between an iPhone and high-end Android phones, __THE__ special thing about iPhones is their operating system and the way it works __INSIDE__ the walled garden, this is __THE__ main reason me and a lot of other people keep buying these devices.

The main reason people buy an iPhone is because it's well-known, their friends have one, and it looks nice. The reason you buy it is not the majority.. it's a tiny minority, because most don't know enough to care. I buy the iPhone in spite of the app store situation, and with the absolute poop-show that is liquid glass, it might be the last time. If I can't stand using my phone, what is the point? The "special thing" about iPhones wore off years ago..

Opening the app store is not "turning it to Android". I heard the same complaint on here when RCS when enabled, and when you could place the icons anywhere, or tint them, etc. etc. It's an uninspired and overused troupe, and if that's all it takes to make an Android phone from an iPhone is to open up the store, then man, who cares what anyone buys?

 

[turbineseaplane]

I don't have time to analyze every single software package developers send my way to check if it contains malicious code, so I leave it up to Apple like I've done for the past 15 years.

How have you been using desktop and laptop computers for decades?

 

[gsprs]

I buy the iPhone in spite of the app store situation, and with the absolute poop-show that is liquid glass, it might be the last time. If I can't stand using my phone, what is the point? The "special thing" about iPhones wore off years ago..

So... buy a Samsung. What's the issue here exactly? iPhone is, by your own admission, not for you, so just choose a new phone between the hundreds of options available in Android world.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

So... buy a Samsung. What's the issue here exactly? iPhone is, by your own admission, not for you, so just choose a new phone between the hundreds of options available in Android world.

Naa, no Samsung for me.

Instead of buying something, I stick with what I have...there is already too much consumerism. When the time comes, I'll decide (if android, Pixel only.. I won't even look at the other brands). In the meantime, I'll keep sending Apple feedback and vocally sharing my opinions.

Why am I here?...Because I've owned iPhones since the 3G, and have had MacBooks and iBooks since the mid 2000s. There is more to apple than their phones.

 

[gsprs]

How have you been using desktop and laptop computers for decades?

A phone is not a desktop and a desktop is not a phone, Fedora Silverblue (amd64 desktop) and macOS (m4 macbook air) have been serving me just fine.

 

[Black_Mage]

Anyone know if 3rd party app stores will vet app submissions or they be the Wild West of software?

 

[turbineseaplane]

Anyone know if 3rd party app stores will vet app submissions or they be the Wild West of software?

That's the beauty of competition.
If one is a "wild west" and folks have options, it won't be used and will fail.

That said, I advocate strongly for the users choice to select a "wild west" store if they'd like.

There are plenty of very legitimate App types that Apple simply doesn't like or allow.

 

[Passthru]

The main reason people buy an iPhone is because it's well-known, their friends have one, and it looks nice. The reason you buy it is not the majority.. it's a tiny minority, because most don't know enough to care.

I always see the "open the app store up!" crowd sort of hand-wave this point away, but it's big for a lot of people. A lot of older folks don't know much about computer security, but they do know that iPhones are harder to screw up with malware than Android and that makes them feel safer using it. And this is because of software being locked to the App Store. And for myself, like the poster you replied to, I don't want to have to think or worry about my phone too much - I just want it to do a very small, specific set of phone tasks and that's it.

I think a lot of the desire to open the app store up is an attempt to make phones general-purpose portable computers. I don't want my phone to basically be a laptop - I want it to be very limited in scope so that I can have the maximum confidence it's secure. This device knows far more about me than any other device and I want to be able to trust it and not worry too much about it.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

There is an awful lot of newbies today saying the same things.. hmmm..

As for "older folks", like my parents, they can't use touch devices and have no desire. They sit at a chromebox, with a keyboard, monitor and mouse...and carry a t9 flip phone.

 

[gsprs]

A lot of "older folks" can barely use these devices anymore, as Apple's usability and accessibility fit & finish has gone in the toilet.

(speaking from first hand experience with older folks)

That aside: "older folks" will not have to use any 3rd party App Stores.

older folks install malware on their crapdroid devices all the time, i know it from first hand experience with __MY__ old folks

which device should i put into their hands? the one where it's practically impossible for them to get scammed into downloading malware or the one where their bank account is always 5 taps away from being emptied?

 

[turbineseaplane]

I always see the "open the app store up!" crowd sort of hand-wave this point away, but it's big for a lot of people. A lot of older folks don't know much about computer security, but they do know that iPhones are harder to screw up with malware than Android and that makes them feel safer using it. And this is because of software being locked to the App Store. And for myself, like the poster you replied to, I don't want to have to think or worry about my phone too much - I just want it to do a very small, specific set of phone tasks and that's it.

I think a lot of the desire to open the app store up is an attempt to make phones general-purpose portable computers. I don't want my phone to basically be a laptop - I want it to be very limited in scope so that I can have the maximum confidence it's secure. This device knows far more about me than any other device and I want to be able to trust it and not worry too much about it.

I'm confused ... You've posted repeatedly as being against Apple in 2024 re: Patreon and them taking a 30% cut there.

What are you advocating for?
Locked down but no cut for Apple?
Just more reasonable cuts?

These posts of yours were a year ago.
Can you tell us how you feel now?

I've generally been on Apple's side through all this stuff with the EU because given how much it has the potential to spy on you, I want my phone to be a locked-down appliance. But this is too much. In many cases supporters don't get anything for a donation - just the satisfaction of helping someone create something they like. And Apple wants 30% of that?!? I hope this gets shot down by the higher-ups, because if not, this just convinced me Apple needs to be regulated.

"Patreon's spin." You obviously don't use Patreon. People don't use Patreon because they think it has a really nice-sounding name. Supporters use it because someone somewhere is doing something really cool, and the supporter wants them to keep doing it, and gives them money to do so. Like a patron in the old sense of the word. Apple isn't taking Patreon the company's money, they're taking money from artists and musicians and other people trying to bring something special or beautiful into the world. Many of whom are barely scraping by. That's just scummy.

You don't like that Patreon charges fees... so you support Apple butting in and taking 2-3 times what Patreon typically does? On top of the fees that Patreon charges? If you use Patreon, there must be some creator out there you want to have money - why would you want almost half of what you give them to go to middlemen? Don't you want it to go to your creator? Isn't that why you gave money in the first place? I'm really struggling to understand how you could actually use Patreon and still support Apple in this case. I could see a small fee for payment processing or whatever, but 30%?!?

Patreon is not Netflix or YouTube. They are not a content delivery service. They are a service that allows supporters to send money to creators who are doing something the supporter likes, in the hopes that the creator will keep doing it. Many creators post their stuff on YouTube or SoundCloud or Mega. What Apple is doing here is exactly analogous to Apple wanting a 30% cut because you decided to send your buddy $5 via Apple Pay.

Because Apple provides very little value here. The Patreon App is not primarily a discovery platform. Generally you will find out about a creator through some other means, then follow a link to Patreon (or the app) and support them there. Apple does not deserve a finder's fee here - they have almost nothing to do with a supporter making a decision to send a creator money. Apple is just trying to take a huge cut because they can.


Many of the people who get their money through Patreon could be considered small businesses.

This is an incredibly stupid move by Apple - Patreon tells their creators, who then tell their collectively millions of supporters that Apple is trying to take 30% of the supporters' donations. Thus giving millions of ordinary folks who haven't been following this EU drama at all a reason to think very poorly of Apple, at the same time that governments all over the world are seriously considering regulating them. An own goal if ever there was one.

 

[gsprs]

There is an awful lot of newbies today saying the same things.. hmmm..

As for "older folks", like my parents, they can't use touch devices and have no desire. They sit at a chromebox, with a keyboard, monitor and mouse...and carry a t9 flip phone.

chromebox? why did you set them up with that walled garden bs from google? you should get them a windows 11 machine so they have the freedom to install all the cool apps they want like epic games store, indianmalware.exe, byebyecreditcard.msi, etc

 

[WarmWinterHat]

chromebox? why did you set them up with that walled garden bs from google? you should get them a windows 11 machine so they have the freedom to install all the cool apps they want like epic games store, indianmalware.exe, byebyecreditcard.msi, etc

I didn't set them up, they bought it themselves. I didn't even offer advice.

It's hardly a walled garden in the Apple sense; you can install whatever you like, from any android app store you like, you can install linux on it.

It's none of my business what they use.

 

[gsprs]

I didn't set them up, they bought it themselves. I didn't even offer advice.

It's hardly a walled garden in the Apple sense; you can install whatever you like, from any android app store you like, you can install linux on it.

It's none of my business what they use.

IDK and don't care about how the relationship is for you, but my family's online safety absolutely IS my business, I don't want them falling for scams and messing up our devices with malware, thankfully Apple does most of the job for me and I want this to continue.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

IDK and don't care about how the relationship is for you, but my family's online safety absolutely IS my business, I don't want them falling for scams and messing up our devices with malware.

My parents live several states away from me, so it's not mine. I take care of my family's security, in my household, but they still use what they want. My wife is a die-hard Pixel user, for example. Both kids have retired Windows laptops and have zero malware and scam issues.

 

[Passthru]

I'm confused ... You've posted repeatedly as being against Apple in 2024 re: Patreon and them taking a 30% cut there.

What are you advocating for?
Locked down but no cut for Apple?
Just more reasonable cuts?

These posts of yours were a year ago.
Can you tell us how you feel now?

I'm not defending the percentage Apple takes, I'm defending the "walled garden." Apple taking 30% for essentially being a payment processor for well-established companies (especially ones like Patreon) is pretty excessive. That doesn't mean I want iOS opened up for anyone to publish apps for.

I expect you're going to respond with "if you give an entity monopoly power over something, of course they're going to abuse their position." Fair enough. But I think the pressure on Apple should be to be fairer and better stewards for their system rather than gutting one of the primary draws for their system for many people.

 

[surferfb]

Opening up the App Store is bad for most users. PERIOD. Maybe not you and me, tech enthusiasts. But for the vast majority of users it absolutely is. Google says 50x more malware from third party stores and sideloading than the Play Store.

Coming soon to an iPhone near you, thanks to greedy businesses like Epic and Spotify, idiot/corrupt regulators, all being cheered on by tech nerds who can't be bothered to use a platform that better meets their needs.

You have an option if you want open software. Don't selfishly take away MILLIONS of peoples preferences for a closed one just because you want to have your cake and eat it too.

Edit: toned down language

 

[turbineseaplane]

I'm not defending the percentage Apple takes, I'm defending the "walled garden." Apple taking 30% for essentially being a payment processor for well-established companies (especially ones like Patreon) is pretty excessive. That doesn't mean I want iOS opened up for anyone to publish apps for.

I expect you're going to respond with "if you give an entity monopoly power over something, of course they're going to abuse their position." Fair enough. But I think the pressure on Apple should be to be fairer and better stewards for their system rather than gutting one of the primary draws for their system for many people.

Thank you for replying.

What I would tell you (not what you expected above it looks like) is that the solution is a competitive landscape.

If Apple had to compete to attract people to their App Store offering (vs going direct or to a 3rd party App store), the entire issue solves itself, and in a way that we are supposed to be in support of generally as being capitalism inclined.

Obviously the capitalism piece is subjective, but I generally assume anyone defending Apple is also somewhat pro capitalism. Correct?

 

[turbineseaplane]

Once again, oodles of tech enthusiasts proudly and selfishly admitting "I don't care if normal users get scammed, I shouldn't have to use Android."

Opening up the App Store is bad for most users. PERIOD. Maybe not you, tech enthusiast. But for the vast majority of users it absolutely is. Google says 50x more malware from third party stores and sideloading than the Play Store.

Coming soon to an iPhone near you, thanks to greedy businesses like Epic and Spotify, idiot/corrupt regulators, all being cheered on by tech nerds who can't be bothered to use a platform that better meets their needs.

Goodness man. I love you as a friend, but this way over the top.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Once again, oodles of tech enthusiasts proudly admitting "I don't care if normal users get scammed, I shouldn't have to use Android.

Opening up the App Store is bad for most users. PERIOD. Maybe not you, tech enthusiast. But for the vast majority of users it absolutely is.

lease don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say that, I didn't imply that, and I don't agree with that. That's a really crappy why to look at this.

What I do think is that it should be a choice. Freedom for end-users, period.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Please don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say that, I didn't imply that, and I don't agree with that. That's a really crappy what to look at this.

What I do think is that it should be a choice. Freedom for end-users, period.

I agree.
There is too much assumption and hyperbole wrapped in there for me. 😞

 

[gsprs]

lease don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say that, I didn't imply that, and I don't agree with that. That's a really crappy why to look at this.

What I do think is that it should be a choice. Freedom for end-users, period.

A choice to... install malware.

The freedom to... install malware.

What are you and the other people asking for the App Store to be opened up missing? What type of app isn't allowed on there that you really want?

 

[Passthru]

Thank you for replying.

What I would tell you (not what you expected above it looks like) is that the solution is a competitive landscape.

If Apple had to compete to attract people to their App Store offering (vs going direct or to a 3rd party App store), the entire issue solves itself, and in a way that we are supposed to be in support of generally as being capitalism inclined.

Obviously the capitalism piece is subjective, but I generally assume anyone defending Apple is also somewhat pro capitalism. Correct?

Of the two problems, I care far more about the "keeping my phone limited in scope and secure" problem than I do the "Apple takes too big of a cut" problem. I think it's possible to solve both at the same time.